


Cycle 69 - It's Familiar

by Sticks_And_Stones



Series: Cycle 69 [2]
Category: My Brother My Brother and Me (Podcast), The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sticks_And_Stones/pseuds/Sticks_And_Stones
Summary: It's been over 40 years since Cycle 69 and things have settled back down for the IPRE crew. Life has become as normal as it can be when you're aliens on a world that knows your entire life. However, after a jump to some friends gone wrong, the Tres Horny Boys and a special guest must rely on three normal, familiar friends to get them back to their crazy world... before it's too late.
Series: Cycle 69 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847101
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

The world was quiet that day. Birds were singing, people were enjoying the sun. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. Even at Miller Labs, a place filled with strange experiments that combined magic and science in a precise study, the day's work could be described as boring to anyone who worked there full-time. Lucas Miller was sitting in his office, tinkering with a small power conductor when the door flew open and two identical forms came charging into the room.

“Nerd Lord!” Lup yelled. “What’s the status on the belts?!” 

Lucas took a deep breath, trying not to explode or show how surprised he was. “As I told you before, Lup, the belts power conductors were fried upon reentry from your last jump to your original plane.”

Lup waved a hand. “Pssh, I don’t care about that. What I asked was HOW LONG UNTIL THEY’RE READY TO BE USED?! That little bitch Terry took my fifteen dollar bill and now I have to fry his ass too.”

“And I want to go with her to make sure she doesn’t fuck up like she did last time.”

“Hey, that was Merle’s mistake! He scanned the-”

“Ahem!” Lucas coughed loudly, looking a few seconds away from attempting to kick them out. “You asked me a question and I have an answer. Although we are extremely concerned about the potentially ever-shrinking rift between realities, the main storage unit should be completed and installed by tomorrow afternoon and-”

Lup lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him close enough to see the literal fire burning in her eyes. “Tomorrow?! Why didn’t you call me?! I gave you my frequency just for this purpose!”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “I did attempt to contact you last week with the estimated time. But I would be willing to bet that the frequencies don’t travel well from one plane of existence to the other?”

Lup shrugged. “Fair enough. Come on, ‘Ko. I need to get ass-kicking ready.”

She held out her hand and her scythe appeared in the air in front of her. At the sight of the weapon, Lucas scrambled backward, his hands scrambling for his wand. Taako laughed. “Don’t get too freaked out there. R.Q. still hates you but isn’t after you… yet.”

Lup swiped the blade through the air, opening a portal directly into her living room. The twins walked through, only momentarily feeling the cold grip of the astral plane before the warm embrace of the living room filled their senses. Despite the welcome, the sight before them was quite concerning. Barry and Angus were sitting at the counter as Kravitz made bacon and eggs.

“Hello, sir! Hello, ma’am!” Angus chirped, grinning at them. 

“Whatcha doing here, little man?” Taako asked, ruffling his hair. “Thought that internship or school shit was still going on.”

Angus giggled. “I still live here with you and Mr. Kravitz during the summer break, sir. I don’t go back for another month. As for the internship, Mr. Lucas gave me the week off.”

“Well, why’d he do that? Thought he was training the next army of nerds to take over the world.”

“I’ve been working very hard on helping him fix the reality belts. Not to toot my own horn, but without me, he would have been working on them for another two months.”

“Well thank you for that, Ango,” Lup said, patting his shoulder. “What about you two, my fellow coworkers? Shouldn’t one of you be in the astral plane and other in a bed waiting for one of us hotties?” 

Taako snatched the cooking utensils away from his boyfriend, kissing him on the cheek and whispering something in his ear that made the reaper flush and smile fondly. Even the smile couldn’t hide the fear that was bubbling just below the surface. 

“The Raven Queen has just given us some rather unpleasant news. Or unpleasant for you, Lup.” 

“She told you about something that’d make me miserable but not me?” Lup pouted. “That’s not very fair.”

“She was going to, but this is a bit of an odd one.” Kravitz leaned on the counter, lacing his fingers together. “Just last night, we got our normal report from the sentries at the Eternal Stockade saying that everything was normal. No escapees, no plots. Everyone was still on the freedom high that Legion gave them.”

“Okay, that’s pretty good news all things considered.”

“Yeah…” Barry rubbed his neck. “When I was going through for morning checkups, one of the prisoners was missing. Jacobson Rittle.”

“I remember him. Tried some experimental magic to try and get into the astral plane to kill you Krav, right?” Taako shuddered from the stovetop. “What a creep. You reap one bounty on his best friend and suddenly this guy thinks he can harness the power of the Raven Queen.”

“He was in the stockade, so we can just track him down, right?”

Kravitz chuckled. “Yes, we can. Normally, not to difficult of a thing to deal with. One escaped soul is a piece of cake, but he is a very powerful and skilled wizard with a personal vendetta against me. So until he’s captured, the Raven Queen has me on house arrest.”

The smile on Lup’s face faded. “Wait… but that means-”

Barry took her hand. “Sorry, babe, but it looks like your fifteen dollars are going to have to wait.”

She groans, falling limp in her chair and running her hands over her face. “But I don’t wanna wait! I want to go now!” 

“Unless you’d rather be reaped, I’d suggest you follow the Raven Queen's orders,” Kravtiz said. “The trip can wait for another day.”

“Um, about that…” All eyes turned to Angus, who looked extremely nervous. “Based on the data that we’ve gotten from the belts after the last jump, once they’re fixed, they will have 24 hours to build up enough energy to be used for a jump. Once they reach peak capacity, they must be used or it will blow the circuits, and the window between the peak and the explosion is very limited. I mean 10 seconds limited.”

“Okay, that’s good news. Gives me 24 extra hours to figure out how to find this guy.” Lup leaned back in her chair. “Not too bad.”

Barry took her hand. “Lup, as much as I want you to get your fifteen back, this man is dangerous. What’s a little revenge when you could get praise and admiration from the Raven Queen herself.”

Lup looked like she was going to argue, but then her expression melted into loving defeat. “You know just what to say to cheer me up.” 

“Even if you don’t, we’re still hella rich with more coming in by the second, so don’t even stress over an infinite amount of money.” Taako dumped a full breakfast onto the table in front of them.

“We’re not using all that money, Taako,” Kravitz said. “I don’t need basic living needs and you can practically make anything we need with your magic touch.” 

Taako shrugged. “Still a big flex to say that I’m the richest elf in the world.”

“Flex, sir?” Angus asked through a mouthful of bacon.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of slang I picked up from-” Taako’s eyes widened and the fork fell out of his hand, clattering to the ground. A maniacal grin spread across his face and he let out a little giggle.

“Taako, you okay?” Barry asked.

“I know that face. That’s his ‘I’ve got an insane but brilliant idea’ face.” Lup studied his face closely and then gasped. “Taako. That is such an insane idea and an absolutely brilliant idea.”

“Exactly!” Taako pulled out his stone of farspeech and tuned in to one of the frequencies. “Maggie! Get Merle and meet me and Ango at Nerd Lord’s labs tomorrow afternoon. More details to follow.”

_ “Taako what-” _

But Taako had run out of the room, shouting something about having to find the perfect reunion outfit. Angus and Kravitz looked at each other with identical looks of confusion as Lup stormed after Taako, screeching about the situation not being fair. 

“DON’T YOU DARE VISIT THEM WITHOUT ME. I DESERVE TO SEE THEM TOO!”

“YOU DECIDED TO BECOME A REAPER JUST GO ANOTHER TIME!” 

“Uh, pardon me, Mr. Barry, but what are they arguing about now?”

“I would love to know that too,” Kravitz agreed. “The only time I’ve seen Taako that riled up is when he almost wore the same outfit as Mookie for Carey and Killian’s wedding. Although I am glad he changed; it was a dreadful suit.” 

Barry chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “They’re mad at each other because in one of our cycles, we met some very important people that we got to be very close with. Taako, Magnus, Merle and you are going to meet them.”

“Why me, sir? Why not Miss Lucretia or Mr. Davenport?” 

Barry smiled, patting the child’s shoulder. “The people we made friends with were close to Dav and Lucretia. Lup and I got close, but those three held a very special place in their hearts. So if he wants you there, Angus, it’s for a damn good reason.”

* * *

“Come on, Daddy!” Bebe dragged Travis forward by the hand towards the building. He looked up at the sign, feeling dread at allowing her to throw her birthday party at Dave n’ Busters. In all fairness, she was eight and this place was heaven for a kid, but it was still very creepy all things considered. Even from the parking lot, he could see the animatronics dancing on the stage. 

“Let’s wait for mommy and Dot, ‘kay?” Travis said, reigning her back in. “Your uncles and grandpa are waiting inside but they can wait a little longer.”

She pouted but allowed for her mother and younger sister to catch up, Dot in her stroller and looking grumpy after being woken up from her nap. Teresa smiled at him, the same resigned defeat that he felt in her eyes. 

“Come on!” Bebe broke free of Travis’ grip and ran inside. He saw her running forward to wrap her arms around her friends and cousins and then quickly run off to the arcade. Walking in was much like being hit in the head with a hammer made of terrible noise, visuals, music, and smell. 

“I can’t believe we agreed to this,” Teresa said. “We could have just had a party at home.”

“Yeah, well she’s been doing really well in school and I think she was itching to get out of the house and do some junky fun.” Travis eyed the whack-a-mole, wondering how strange it would be for him to spend the entire day at that one game.

“Well you take Dot so I can keep an eye on Bebe, alright?” 

“Fair enough.” Travis switched places with his wife, taking the stroller and walking to the rented area of the arcade. 

“Late to your own party, huh?” Griffin asked from the booth. 

“Traffic was horrible,” Travis said, plopping down next to his father. “There was an accident right outside the neighborhood so we had to take a pretty big detour.”

“Fair enough. Not like you missed much more than an underwhelming Rock em’ Sock em’ machine.” Justin slid him a plate of pizza. “Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious.”   


Travis turned his nose up at the food. “I don’t trust food from places like this. After Chuck-e-Cheese’s went out of business and all that stuff about their pizza came out, normal good pizza has been ruined for me.”

“That’s all just internet conspiracies,” Clint said. “You can’t believe everything you see on the internet.”

“Then you eat it.” Travis pushed the plate to him, laughing as his dad recoiled at the gesture. “Thought so.”

“I’m only opposed ‘cause eating just a bite would probably give me a heart attack. Look at all that grease puddling on the cheese.”

“Uh, excuse me.” The group looked up at a young boy holding a small slip of paper and a pen. “Are you guys those guys who knew the aliens?” 

“Yeah, that’s us,” Justin said, shifting a little uncomfortably. “What’s up?”

“Can I get your autographs?” the boy held out the paper, his hands trembling.

“Yeah sure.” They passed around the napkin and pen, signing it like they had a million other objects and papers. Travis scribbled his name and gave it back to the kid. “You a big IPRE fan?”

The boy nodded. “I dressed up as Merle last Halloween."

“Ha!” Clint laughed in triumph. “Told you that line would take off!” 

“Did you do modern Merle or future Merle?” Griffin asked. 

“Modern. The tree arm was really uncomfortable.” The kid looked around as one of the games lit up with sounds and lights, indicating a jackpot win. “Uh, thanks so much!” 

“Lot more popular than we were before, huh?” Justin asked. “Not complaining, just saying.”

“Glad people have moved on from coming to our houses in the middle of the night to spamming our social media DM’s.” Travis leaned back in the booth. “That was a whole mess.”

“The Hunger was three years ago! Can’t believe people still tried to break in last month.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, the memories washing over them. Four years ago, their own creations had landed on this reality, bringing the Light of Creation and soon after, the Hunger with them. But before the Hunger came, the crew and their family had grown closer together than anyone thought possible. They had shared meals, adventures, stories. Hell, Travis had even learned magic from them. But when the Hunger attacked, and the crew was forced into the next reality, they were left alone. Time passed and the Hunger left the world ravaged but alive. 

Together, countries rebuilt from the ground up, maintaining some of the old society but creating a new one that worked solely for survival, not for wealth or equality. Those would come along with the survival eventually, but this time, it would be much more regulated than it was before people had been pitted against literal monsters and gods. The McElroy family themselves were pulled into the center of the media when they were looking for people to blame or people to thank. They had this reaction when the crew first arrived but with the full effect of their influence, that all got ramped up to ten. No one could put them squarely in either category, so after a while, they were labeled as ‘actively involved’ and left alone for the most part other than the daily interview call, crazed fans, or protestors trying to get near them. 

“Did you guys hear about those magic rifts in Arizona? Up by the vortex.” Clint asked. “Weird, huh?” 

“Yeah, I forgot that was possible.” Griffin sighed. “Returning the realities to their rightful places must not be as clean as we thought.”

“You thought putting realities back together was easy?” Justin laughed. “‘Oh I’m Griffin. I can make a reality so of course, it’s easy to put countless realities back to where they belong!’” 

“Like you could do better.” Travis raised an eyebrow at his brother. 

“I know for shi… sure that I can do better than you at Whack-a-Mole.”

“Oh-ho! You’re on!”

* * *

“Are you sure this is safe, sir?”

“Oh totally. I’ve done it before and I can do it again,” Taako said, strapping the belt around Angus’ waist. 

“Last time though we were making a long jump and this one is much shorter. Much shorter means much safer and more time in the other reality.” Lucas pushed Taako aside and tightened the belt. “The same rules apply as last time in terms of the time frame: have them on at least a minute before the deadline, yadda yadda. We made sure to put in a mechanism that will automatically activate the jump at the end of the 24-hour period with or without you.”

“That’s not ominous at all,” Magnus said, pushing his gifts into his pockets. “I can bring all of this with me, right?”

Lucas glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. “If you want to lose half of it during the jump. Not all of it is touching the belt, so it’ll stay here.”

“So my dick will be lost in the jump?!” Magnus asked this as seriously as he could even though he already knew the answer.

“No. I’ve designed the belts with an electro-magnetic field to account for any major sources of heat that are greater than that of normal temperature. I outfitted each of the belts with this mechanism specific to each of your races, so anything that is within your own temperature field will be protected by the belt. Anything outside of a few inches will be lost. So I’d say your dick is just fine.”

Magnus’ eyes flared with playful fire and he began to roll up his sleeves before Merle’s arm caught him round the middle.

“It’s not worth it, Maggie. Besides, we know his big words are only compensating for something else.” Merle said, pulling at his robes. “This belt is really tight, can I get a larger size or poke a few holes into it?”

“If you want to lose half of your body… sir.” Angus bit his lip, trying to suppress his smile. Magnus was off to the side, pulling out as many gifts as he could bear to part with. 

“Okay, we got about two minutes until the units are fully charged,” Lucas said, stepping up to the control panel and pressing a few buttons that activated the inner workings of the belt, making them glow. “When you jump, you should arrive just outside any establishment that these… guys are in. Give or take a few feet. You won’t appear inside anything though; there’s a very slim-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence unless you want to be inside something,” Taako said, stuffing his hat under his arm. 

“Remember, it’s gonna be a loud entrance and a loud exit, so don’t be surprised by some ringing for a little bit after the jump.” Lucas looked up from the panel. “One minute.”

The boys looked at each other, each sharing a knowing grin that even the Boy Detective couldn’t understand. 

“Thirty seconds.”

The belts began to vibrate around their waists, their magical and scientific energy making the air hum. 

“Uh, sirs, if you met them over fifty years ago, won’t they be… I don’t know, older?” 

The smiles slid off their faces. “Oh… yeah forgot about that. That might be a problem.” 

“It’s too late now. Five seconds.”

There was the sound of something ripping, like a million papers at once as a tear in the fabric of reality opened in front of them. “WATCH OUT!” They briefly saw what looked to be a fiery land behind Barry’s skeletal form as a man let go of his scythe and lunged at Angus. Everyone moved to stop the attacker, but by the time anyone had laid a hand on him, the attacker’s form had dissolved into a small white light that plowed into Angus’ chest. The belts screeched with energy as the power built up inside them released, teleporting Taako, Magnus, Merle, Angus, and the attacker away.

* * *

“Happy birthday to you!” 

Bebe took a deep breath and blew out the candles on her cake in one swift blow. The party cheered as the workers began to slice the cake carefully and hand it out on plates.

“You’re not eating any, Trav?” Justin asked, taking a piece and handing it to Charlie. 

“Nah. I like it and all, but that frosting is… it all leads back to the pizza.” He made a gagging motion. Teresa nudged him, nodding her head towards the group of kids enjoying their slices at another table as they watched some animated kids show on the rented television.

“Why get this one instead of making one at home?” Carol asked, collecting some of the extra plates and setting them aside. “I know you make an absolutely delicious buttercream frosting, Teresea.”

“Thank you. Unfortunately, neither of us knew how to turn a regular circular cake into a Doc McStuffins cake,” Teresa said. 

“I found this amazing website online that shows people not only how to make cakes but also how to shape them into whatever they want,” Griffin said.

“Why didn’t you tell us that before we spent fifty bucks?” Travis asked. 

“Because I didn’t know you needed one. All I knew was that you were in need of a cake and you were probably going to buy one.”

“In all fairness, Griffin has been busy lately.” Rachel took a sip of water. “Lots of interviews and such.”

Justin shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable and annoyed. “I hate to break up the conversation before it starts, but I for one am tired of all of the media and the crew and the Hunger. Is there any way we can talk about another topic like politics or the environment? You know, like normal adults?” 

Clint put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I agree, Justin. Believe me, I do. But we’re not exactly normal adults, are we?” The group murmured in agreement. 

Griffin leaned forward, looking similar to Justin in his uncomfortableness. However, the main difference is that Griffin seemed more sad where Justin had been annoyed. “He’s right though. Let’s be normal for five seconds, so let’s move away from them. Who are you guys voting for next year?”

There was the sound of a small firework explosion from right beside them and a force to match. Sydnee and Clint, who were sitting on the ends of the booth, were knocked off their seats and to the ground. The children screamed in terror at the sound and all employees were immediately on-alert as a child was thrown to the ground by a man in a long black robe. 

“GET THAT FUCK FACE!” a shrill voice screamed. A large man and a small old man went tearing after him, quickly followed by the source of the voice. Travis shook his head, watching them run out, too disoriented to process what was going on. The child who had been thrown to the ground was laying right next to him, looking dazed and confused. He was maybe 12, his skin was dark and freckly and his curly brown hair was sticking out from all angles from underneath a dapper hat. He fixed his round glasses as he looked around. 

“Here, kid,” Clint said, getting to his feet and helping the kid up.

“Th-Thank you, sir,” the kid said, brushing off his impeccably professional outfit. “My belt… sir did you see where my belt went?!” 

“Uh, no sorry.” Clint blinked. 

“Oh no…” The kid turned around and ran after the men who had crashed the party, yelling “Mr. Taako!” 

“Wait, Taa- Taako?! That was-” 

He looked around for his family, who had all rushed to their children’s sides as soon as they possibly could. Travis was rocking a wailing Dot as Teresa tried to clean cake out of Bebe’s hair. Justin and Sydnee were brushing down their daughter’s clothes, which were covered in spilled juice. Griffin looked up from Charlie’s side, his eyes wide and jaw set tight. 

“We lost him!” The doors burst open and three very familiar figures came running into the room. “We fucking lost him in that sea of tiny battlewagons! He turned into a ball of light and flew off and he could be anywhere by now!” 

“He had my belt!” The kid was shaking with fear, his lip trembling. “He-He had my belt, sirs!” 

“I know, kid. We’ll get it back.” The large figure put a hand on the child’s shoulders and looked around at them all.

“Magnus?!” Travis exclaimed, standing up straight at the sight of his old friend. “What- What are you doing here?!”

“The belts…” Griffin whispered. “Nashville…”   
  
“Oh, so you know about these?” Taako said, thrusting his hip out and tossing his own belt at Griffin. “Good, so you’ll know how to find them?” 

“No! He doesn’t,” Justin said. “Guys, what are you doing here?! How-”

Merle slapped his own belt. “The belts got us here. But they’re also our ticket back, so we might need your help.”

“Why? Who was that other guy?” Clint asked. 

“Got a hunch, but no way to confirm it. But either way, we need to get it back ASAP.” Magnus pointed to his own belt. 

“And who’s this kiddo?” Clint asked, but by the time the sentence left his mouth, the final piece fell into place. The kid adjusted his glasses just as his youngest son had done for his entire life and held out his hand, giving him an awkward smile. 

“I’m Angus McDonald, sir. And I think we could really use your family’s help.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So that took for fucking ever. I've run into the problem where I know EXACTLY where I want to end up but I have no idea how to get there. I just started college so I might find time to write the next chapters. If I plan it correctly it should be... three-four more chapters? Who knows at this point.
> 
> Hope you guys are staying well and staying safe and healthy.
> 
> See you next time!

Justin was pacing around his bedroom, head in his hands, and worry digging deep into the pit of his stomach. He could hear everyone in the living room talking away, but he had stepped out so he could take a breath and get his thoughts together.

“Justin, just take a moment to relax,” Sydnee said. “You know what, scratch that; that’s not a very helpful thing to say. They asked for your help, but this sounds like it’s way too much to ask from you guys. They’re dealing with something from their world, so you might not be able to help at all.”

“I know, I know. That’ll be more in Travis and Griffin’s area, but I can’t just sit by and watch.” Justin sat down on the bed next to his wife. “I gotta help them but I… I really don’t want to. Things just got normal again and if I get swept up in this, it might not…” He trailed off, but she seemed to understand.

She rubbed his arm. “As much as I’d love for things to be normal again, your dad was right. We lost normal lives the moment they came three years ago. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” He sighed. “I miss the days where I didn’t have to worry about magic and planes of existence. Or at least not worry about them as real threats and not fictional dangers.”

“Not to undermine your feelings, but imagine how Griffin feels. He came up with all those mechanics.”

“Yeah, yeah. Poor Griffin…” He let out a long breath, the thought of his younger brother suffering through these feelings alone making his heart ache. “So, what do I do, Doc? In a situation I don’t want to be in but am very morally obligated to be in, what do I do?” 

Sydnee smiled. “You just said it yourself: you feel that you’re morally obligated to be in this situation. If your morals say you should do it, you should. But there may come a point where you can’t be in the situation any more for one reason or another. When you reach that point, I’m asking you not to push yourself farther. For us, okay?”

There was a crash from the living room, followed immediately by shouting. Justin looked at her. “I’ll go deal with whatever that was. You good taking Charlie and Cooper to Travis’?”

She nodded, kissing his forehead. “I got it. See you when I get back.”

Justin walked out to see Magnus and Merle yelling at each other over a small bowl laying on the ground in pieces. Taako was sitting at the counter with Angus, observing the scene with unrestrained glee. 

“Why’d you throw it on the ground?!” 

“I didn’t mean to! My arm went limp as soon as we got here and I turned to quickly!” Merle waved around what looked to be a thick rotting stick. 

“Then put the stick down!” 

“No! It’s special to me! And I wanna get it to work again!” He raised his hand and shouted. “I CAST WORD OF HEALING!” 

When nothing happened, Taako let out a bark of laughter. “Hey dummy, don’t you remember? This reality is stupid and the Plane of Magic isn’t exactly close by,” Taako said, waving to himself. “My glamor charm is only gonna last a little longer before I look all shitty again. Recasting it will take a lot of time and energy that we don’t exactly have.”

“Sirs, if I may?” Angus waved his hand and with a shimmer of golden magic, the pieces of the bowl flew back together. Travis picked the bowl out of the air and put it on the counter. “Thanks, kid.” 

Angus beamed. 

“Hey, Justin. What’s the scoop?” Griffin asked from next to Taako.

“The kids are at your house, Trav. The party’s also finishing up there.” Justin leaned against the counter. “But moving on, we should probably figure out what to do with this situation."

“That’s what I’ve been sayin’!” Taako exclaimed. “I knew we were the same person!”

Clint chuckled. “Yeah, as Taako said, we don’t have a lot of time. So these belts. They allow you to jump between realities and stuff. But because of the way they charge and release the energy, you gotta have them on the instant they reach max charge, right?”

Angus nodded. “These three have their belts but mine was stolen by the man who teleported away. I suspect that he does not know about the properties of the belts, and because of that will be trying to keep it to himself and hide where he knows he can protect himself. If he’s smart, it won’t be hard to figure out what the properties of the belt are.”

“Who even was that?” Magnus asked. “I didn’t recognize him.”

“Yeah, neither did I.” Merle plopped down on a couch, laying his arm across his lap. “Barry was chasing him, so obviously he knew him and he’s obviously dangerous.”

Griffin nodded. “Oh yeah he’s a reaper now, isn’t he? How’re he and Lup?” 

“Got married for the gazillionth time, this time officially and permanently. They put on a total spectacle of it and held it in the middle of Goldcliff at Hurley and Sloane's tree.” Magnus grinned. “I was the best man. Taako was maid of honor and Merle officiated. Haven’t seen Lucretia cry like that in decades.”

Angus coughed. “Please, sirs, can we focus? I believe that man was the one that Mr. Kravitz was talking about yesterday, the one that escaped from the Eternal Stockade.”

“That’s bad, right?” Justin asked. “That’s where, uh… what’s-the-name… Legion came from, right? All those souls who did things so bad with the process of death that they got locked up forever instead of being allowed to move on?”

“Oh yeah, Travis cut off my arm during that arc!” Clint said.

Merle lept to his feet, shaking his hand. “No, nuh-uh! Excuse you! You didn't cut off anyone's arm! I lost my arm to Magnus, excuse you!” 

“But yes, this man escaped recently and I suspect it was completely intentional that he took a belt, seeing as how he has a personal vendetta against reapers.”

“What did they do to him?” Clint asked. “I mean, other than take his soul and stuff it in the stockade?”

“As far as we know, he managed to break into the astral plane in order to kill Mr. Kravitz, which made him a personal enemy against the Raven Queen.” Angus tapped a pen against his chin. “We need to figure out how to track him or at least figure out where he’ll-”

“He wanted my belt,” Taako said, his face and ears going slack. “Kravitz said it himself, this guy has a personal vendetta against him and the Raven Queen. That guy somehow found out about the belts and what they could do and all of the rules of them. He wanted me not you.” He scrambled for a second, whipping off his belt and throwing it at Angus. “Get the hell outta here, kid. I’m staying here. If I stay-”

“No, sir! I can’t do that!” Angus threw the belt back. “Miss Lup, Mr. Barry, and Mr. Kravitz can’t live without you! And I mean that literally with Mr. Kravitz!” 

“Yeah, Taako. You need to get back.” Magnus took off his own belt and threw it to Angus. “I’ll stay.”

Merle snatched the belt from Angus and threw it back. “No! You got the dog shelter and a wife to look forward to! You’re not staying here!” The four began to fight, throwing their belts back and forth like a game of keep away. Justin looked at his brothers and his father in confusion and helplessness. 

“What do we do?” Travis asked. 

“We can’t really convince them to choose who stays, obviously.” Griffin pushed his glasses up his nose. “How are we supposed to-”

“ALRIGHT. QUIET DOWN!” Clint yelled, effectively stopping the argument. “We need to figure out how to find the guy  _ and  _ the belt! That way no one has to stay behind here and no one in your world has to be sad!”    
  
“Wow, that’s a good idea! Wish we would have thought of that.” Merle looked at him in annoyance. “But how do we find him?! We barely have magic and I don’t think you guys have a way to track people who don’t technically have bodies.” 

“Actually, that’s a good point. The connection to the Plane of Magic in this reality is quite weak, right?” Angus nodded, the gears visibly turning in his head. “So he’d want to go to a place where magic is strongest on this plane in order to protect himself from us when we follow. Is there any place that has a particularly stronger connection to the plane?” 

“Do you mean vortexes? Because there are plenty of those.” 

“No, I mean…” Angus formed the words in his mouth before continuing. “It’s like how the curvature of the earth allows some parts of the world to be closer to the sun and thus hotter. There must be places that -even with the disconnection- are closer to the Plane of Magic. Not only that but due to the defeat of the Hunger and release of all the realities it had consumed, all planes of every reality are being shifted slightly by the forces putting it all back together.” 

“Jeffandrew!” Griffin, Magnus, Taako, and Merle all cried. 

Angus nodded. “Yes, sirs. There must be some points where magic is leaking into your world because of all of these factors. Are there any places like that now that all of the realities have been put back in place? Anywhere where it’s gotten-”

“Arizona! Up at the vortex in Sedona,” Clint snapped his fingers. “There’s been reports of a place in Arizona that’s leaking magic. I don’t think it’s been very strong but there’s  _ definitely  _ magic.”   
  
Travis shrugged. “Well, they’re not saying it’s magic but it’s pretty obvious it is. New types of animals have been spotted, some people who have a natural affinity to magic have been able to do a few cantrips without knowing what they were doing.” 

“Then that’s where he’s heading.” Angus stood up and looked around. “How do we get to Arizona in less than 20 hours?”

“Well, fortunately, it’s only a few states away. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much when no car that we have access to is fast enough to travel between here and there without a ton of money and energy being wasted. On top of that, you guys don’t have any magic strong enough to get us there that fast.” Travis pulled up his phone and started typing away furiously. “Which means we’ll need to take a plane.”

“You guys are going with them?” Clint asked. “You sure about that boys?”

“I am,” Travis said. “They need a guide through Arizona and this world. No offense, but I’d love to see Merle make it through TSA without someone who knows how this world works.”

“What’s TSA?” Merle asked. 

“I’m also going,” Griffin said. “I’ve got some points I can use to make the flights cheaper and I, uh… that’s it.”

Angus’ brow furrowed but he didn’t say anything about whatever he had noticed. “Mr. Justin and Mr. Clint, are you two coming?”

Justin pursed his lips. “I don’t want to, but I don’t think Travis alone can handle the three of you.”

“I’m staying,” Clint said. “My traveling and adventuring days ended before they begin, but I’ll pay for the tickets and stay here at home base for moral and information support.”

Magnus nodded. “Couldn’t ask for a better home base.” He clapped his hands together. “Now! We should get going!”

Taako raised his hand. “Are we still recognized on this plane cause cha’ boi doesn’t want to be walking around with the paparazzi during this time.”   


“You said you have a glamor charm, right Taako?” Griffin asked. “Let it wear off and then use it on your ears.”    


Taako gave a long groan, pulling his ears down to his chin. “I hate doing that. It’s so… weird.”   
  
Travis hopped off the counter, throwing his phone to his father. “There’s a plane that leaves in three hours so we gotta go. On our way to the airport, just put all of your stuff into the pocket spa or the pocket workshop. We’ll just hope it just shows up as… something else. Unless you guys have a portal you can shove it all in.” 

“Not one we can summon right now with the lack of magic.” 

“I also have a question,” Merle announced, waving his wooden arm through the air. “What’s a plane?”

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty here we go! I'm still working through this and with my first semester of college coming up, I'll try to update as often as I can if I'm happy with the chapter. It won't be as long as the previous story but oh well. I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Hope you guys are staying well and staying safe and healthy. 
> 
> See you next time!


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